Aaron Would you like to guesstimate the total worth of stuff in the box? I got it early on and the box had its share of uselessness packed in at that time. I did OK with what I took out. But I know when I sent it out after meeting up with a couple others that we increased the value quite a bit.

A little forethought when adding to the box would be great. This should not be looked at as an opportunity to rid yourselves of useless crap that you can't sell on swap. Instead, think of what most others would find useful.

Good news here,I was contacted today by Frank H. (Porker110) and he told me that the original box has actually made it to him today! So it took USPS a month to deliver a package in the same state.

On a side note: i completely agree that some of the items in the box were underwhelming and the cost of shipping it is not worth the items you may take out of it (since you are not going to take all the items).

I would like to make a few suggestions:

1) replace the items only with those of equal or higher value.2) no used clothing/backpacks unless they are (a) Ultralight, (b) in good shape, (c) have actual relation to hiking/camping3) remove items you consider unworthy of forwarding, take a picture and post what item was removed.4)$20 buck test - are the item or items worth at least $20 (even on craigslist)? If yes - put them in, if not - do not put them in. Otherwise people will be finding items of no value and spending $30 to forward them.5) Just keep the box small so all contents fits in Flatrate box?

At this time, i think people have paid more in forwarding costs than they would had they bought those items on CraigsList or somewhere else.

This seems to be the common sentiment. I'm not sure I'm interested any more. Should we try to separate the wheat from the chaff as it were, out with the old in with the new (and relatively worthwhile items)? Just thinking if there's a way this can become less than a boon for USPS and a tax on each of us.

Got the Western Box (not sure which one.....) from Jim today. Someone put in a few bags of powdered milk, one of which broke and dusted everything inside, but I cleaned it up and tossed the rest of the milk (Ha, I'm a vegan and that stuff is BAD for you!!!) I grabbed a small cricket knife on a neck cord, and two fuel bottles. I will load it up with some more goodies this weekend when I get a chance to go through my stuff. I removed my name from the list.... Who wants it next?

I got the Western Box On Friday evening (unfortunately I had to work all weekend and didn't have a chance to send this post). There has been some talk about what do do with the things in the box that are not worth paying the shipping to send them on a constant trek around the west. I wanted to see what everyone wanted to do (PIF individual items, donate to local Boy Scout Troop or something like that.) It is hard for me to know what is valuable to other people. I am not a gram counter, so some things I might think about taking someone else on here wouldn't even think about looking at twice. One man's trash is another man's treasure and all that. I can tell you that there are some things in the here that I don't think people are going to want (IE. the ziploc of tampons or the bag of dried peas). There is some stuff in here that would be better suited for car camping, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not the original purpose of these boxes. Please send me some feedback about what we are going to do with these boxes. I don't know if it was the times when the box didn't move for weeks (or more) or if people have just lost interest, but I have to tell 'ya I was pretty disappointed after waiting that long.

I was hoping for more input before I post pictures ( I don't want to ruin it fore people that want it to be a suprise). If I don't get some more opinions by the end of the day I am just going to send it to the next person on the list tomorrow. The box says it was $20 ($19.20 I think) for it's journey.

When I sent on the original western box I think it was $36 so it has either been widdeled down or maybe this is the newer one and it's a bit smaller. Either way, for me I think a donation to local boys scout troop is a great idea. You probably won't get agreement on any one course of action from everyone here. I would post an invintory list and some pics with ur thoughts on quality and what u think should be pulled. If any has an issue something then throw that piece back in. It kinda sounds like we might be losing the spirt of the box if people are just throwing in crap that they don't want and that's basically worthless. Just my thought.

Alex, I see you live in Burbank. I'm right down the street in Pasadena. If you want some extra input, I'd be happy to meet up with you, we can determine together what's worth sending on and what's better off donated, and then we can split postage to the next person on the list.

I'm glad to see that there is still some interest in this idea and that one (or some) of the boxes is still migrating. That being said, it is unfortunate, although not entirely unexpected, to see the contents degrade in value over time and for the ultimate winner here to be USPS.

And just to answer Nathan -- there was a mid-America box (or Eastern as it was) floating around here somewhere. Just put your name and info on the spreadsheet linked to the thread's first post to get involved.

So, I will throw out a few other thoughts and ideas as I have watched this evolve:

First, for all of those who may have not gotten a chance to receive a box and responded with 'I have plenty of stuff to add' -- why not just start your own box and send it to a random member on the list. Surprises at the door are usually welcome and that is the PIF spirit of this. Keep your own name on the list until you receive a box.

Second, it is true that one man's trash is another's treasure, but if the box is just a bunch of junk then clean it out, add some stuff and move it along. Donate, throw away, whatever -- it doesn't need to be a big debate. If you take nothing from the box I see no reason why you cannot stay on the list for a chance to receive a box that may have more items that are valuable to you (still taking a chance mind you).

And lastly, if this idea has run it's course then so be it -- it was fun to see all of the posts as people sent and received the boxes. It was never intended for everyone to be wasting hard earned (gear!) money to be shipping around a box of junk.

I've got the western box. I message one of the guys next on the list but haven't heard from him. I'm currently in Oahu getting married (well, in a few hours), but I'll be back June 1st. In the mean time, I thought it would be raiser to just post here and see who wants the box next instead of messaging people one at a time and waiting for a response.

I'd prefer to send it to somebody that's been waiting for a while but has been shipped over due to location or other circumstances. Sound off below as a reply in this thread if you want it next and I'll send it when I get back (no PMs please).